There are numerous different types of packages for various liquid contents available on the market. These packages may, for example, be manufactured from aluminium, plastic or laminated paperboard. For different types of liquids, different materials and designs of the package may be appropriate.
The material in the package is also selected on the basis of the physical design of the package. One type of package which is particularly suitable for still drinks consists of a sleeve, a top and a bottom, where the parts included are not necessarily of the same material. For example, the sleeve and the bottom may be of laminated paperboard and be formed in one piece, and the top may consist of injection-moulded plastic. Such a package is described in EP-B1-0 960 014 and WO 98/32666. A similar design where the sleeve is of laminated paperboard and the bottom and top are of plastic and the top is injection-moulded on the casing/sleeve is described in EP-A1-0 862 980.
Both of these types of package may be employed for largely the same type of contents, but are manufactured in different ways and in different machines. These machines are often constructed at a machine manufacturer and are subsequently sold to a packaging manufacturer. Because of the large range of packages available, the variation in machines is consequentially large. In order that a machine manufacturer be able to meet the demand for different types of packing and filling machines, it is necessary that a large number of machine parts to different types of machines be kept in store. Also in product development, it is necessary that every improvement be introduced into a multiplicity of different machine types. For a manufacturer of the machines, it would, therefore, be advantageous to be able, in one way or another, to reduce the number of different machine parts which must be kept in store for manufacture and sale without reducing the range of products available on offer of machines for manufacturing different types of packages.
In the case when a packaging manufacturer wishes to replace package type, the manufacturer must, at the present time, obtain a totally new plant which gives rise to large capital investment costs. It would, therefore, be desirable to realise a plant which may be retooled or retro constructed for different types of packages without the entire machine needing to be replaced.